United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

German fakes of World War II

Operation Bernhard

REFERENCE: Operation Bernhard was a covert German operation to mass manufacture counterfeit banknotes (pounds and US dollars) that operated during World War II. The operation was led by SS Sturmbannführer Bernhard Krueger, by whose name it was named. Kruger picked up among the Jewish prisoners of Sachsenhausen and other concentration camps a team of 142 people, which included counterfeiter Solomon Smolyanov, as well as engravers, printers and artists. Two separate barracks in Sachsenhausen were allocated for secret production, where those who participated in the work were provided with better living conditions than ordinary prisoners. Work began in 1942. A lot of time was spent on organizing production: making printed matrices, selecting the desired composition of paper, watermarks and disclosing the algorithm for generating serial numbers.
 
BY5th
cat. # P
face value
year
Description/Notes
 OBVERSE
REVERSE

P:335a
5 pounds
1935
Sign.Peppiat London 18 March


P:335a
5 pounds
1937
Sign.Peppiat London 24 Feb.

RIS.1, RIS.2)



P:336
10 pounds
1934
Sign.Peppiat London




P:330
£20
1930
Sign.Catters London



P:330
£20
1932
Sign.Catters London


P:330
£20
1934
Sign.Peppiat London



P:330
£20
1935
Sign.Peppiat London



P:330
£20
1936
Sign.Peppiat London



P:330
£20
1936
Sign.Peppiat London 7 Juni *1



P:338a
£50
1934
Sign.Peppiat London


P:338a
£50
1937
Sign.Peppiat London 15 May *1
333333-Operation Bernhard 50lb-444444